This invention relates to a sanitary protection packaging used for retrieving hygienic devices therein and provides full and complete sanitary protection, ease in handling, and discretion in packaging appearance.
All manner and variety of absorbent articles configured for the absorption of body fluids such as menses, urine and feces are, of course, are well known. With respect to feminine protection devices, the art has offered two basic types; sanitary napkins have be en developed for external wear about the pudendal region while tampons have been developed for internal wear within the vaginal cavity for interruption of menstrual flow therefrom. Such tampon devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,833, entitled xe2x80x9cTampon Applicator,xe2x80x9d issued to Weigner, et al. on Nov. 1, 1983, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,986, entitled xe2x80x9cTampon Assembly With Means For Sterile Insertionxe2x80x9d, issued to Jacobs on Nov. 8, 1983.
Hybrid devices that attempt to merge the structural features of the sanitary napkins and the tampons into a single device have also been proposed. Such hybrid devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,092,346, entitled xe2x80x9cCatamenial Pad,xe2x80x9d issued to Arone on Sep. 7, 1937, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,372, entitled xe2x80x9cFeminine Hygiene Protective Shield,xe2x80x9d issued to Denkinger on Sep. 16, 1975. Other less intrusive hybrid devices are known as labial or interlabial sanitary napkins and are characterized by having a portion which at least partially resides within the wearer""s vestibule and a portion which at least partially resides external of the wearer""s vestibule. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,662,527, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Pad,xe2x80x9d issued to Jacks on Dec. 15, 1953, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,062, entitled xe2x80x9cLabial Sanitary Pad,xe2x80x9d issued to Lassen, et al. on Dec. 23, 1986.
Interlabial pads have the potential to provide even greater freedom from inconvenience because of their small size and reduced risk of leakage. Numerous attempts have been made in the past to produce an interlabial pad which would combine the best features of tampons and sanitary napkins while avoiding at least some of the disadvantages associated with each of these types of devices. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,049 issued to Delaney on Dec. 15, 1959, U.S. Pat. No. 3,43,235 issued to Harmon on Jan. 7, 1969, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,392 issued to Johnson, et al. on Jun. 17, 1986. A commercially available interlabial device is FRESH ""N FIT(copyright) PADETTE(copyright) hygienic product that is marketed by Athena Medical Corp. of Portland, Oreg. and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,983,873 and 4,175,561 issued to Hirschman on Oct. 5, 1976 and Nov. 27, 1979, respectively.
Feminine sanitary protection absorbent articles need to be hygienically stored from the time of their manufacture until the article is used. This is a particular concern with respect to maintaining a sanitary environment prior to placement or insertion. That is, a need exists to hygienically store an absorbent article to prevent transferring unsanitary particles to the pudendal or vaginal area.
The packaging for the commercially available FRESH ""N FIT(copyright) PADETTE(copyright) hygienic product is made from a coated paper sheet that is wrapped around the product and sealed on the transverse ends and along the longitudinal edges. The transverse ends and longitudinal edges of the product are sometimes sealed with an adhesive and are then crimped or knurled together. An example of packaging for a hygienic pad is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,245 entitled xe2x80x9cLabial Sanitary Padxe2x80x9d that issued to F. O. Lassen, et al. on May 10, 1988.
Other packages for sanitary articles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,371 entitled xe2x80x9cInternally Sterile Composite Packagexe2x80x9d that issued to D. Patience on Nov. 6, 1962 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,549 entitled xe2x80x9cPackages for Small Articlesxe2x80x9d that issued to J. A. Glassman on Oct. 17, 1972.
Packages for tampons are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,262 entitled xe2x80x9cTamponxe2x80x9d that, issued to W. Kobler, et al. on Jun. 2, 1964 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,059 entitled xe2x80x9cPackage of a Sanitary Tamponxe2x80x9d that issued to S. Shimatani and K. Shimatani on Jan. 19, 1993.
One drawback to the prior art is that packages for hygienic products do not provide a means for users to maintain good hygiene when removing the product from the protective package or inserting a hygienic product into the folds of the skin or into the vagina. The lack of hygiene in restrooms, the need to touch the doors of non-hygienic restrooms, and the necessity to touch themselves while inserting the device may result in the possibility of infection. In addition, when inserting the device during menstruation, it is desirable to keep the user""s hands free from soiling. Therefore, the consumer needs an individual package that will hygienically protect a hygienic device during its removal from a package and simultaneously during insertion thereof. Also, the prior art system requires the consumer to open the package in a way that is not necessarily intuitive to the consumer.
Although the packages described in the prior art protect the enclosed article, the package does not aid in the hygienic removal, insertion and placement of the hygienic device or provide a barrier to prevent the wearer""s hand from touching the product or the wearer""s body. Additionally, such packages do not provide a convenient means for users of hygienic products to dispose of the packaging after the product has been used. Conventionally, users would dispose of the packaging by placing the product in her purse; discarding it on the bathroom floor; placing it in a trash receptacle for sanitary products; winding several layers of toilet paper around the tampon and then depositing it into trash cans; or placing the packaging in a trash receptacle outside of the bathroom stall. These disposal practices lead to a wasteful and an unsanitary/unhygienic environment. Some users may attempt to flush packages whether they are or are not designed to be flushed, and regardless of whether they are dispersible in water or biodegradable. Thus, the current method for disposing used feminine care products, in particular tampon applicators and tampons, is very cumbersome, potentially damaging to plumbing systems, and not very hygienic.
Furthermore, the prior art packages fail to provide a sterile environment because they, too, do not seal all parts of the product inside the package that should be protected from contamination or prevent the user from touching parts that should maintain sterility. In addition, conventional packages serve only the function of sealing up of the sanitary tampons, that is, they are merely thrown away giving no additional use once they are opened.
The present invention encompasses a package for use with a hygienic device having a body comprising walls which surround and contain the device within the body; a rupturable seal line running adjacent to a permanent seal of at least one side of the body, and an opening member situated on the seal line and extending outward from the body. The opening member is suitable for grasping with the fingers. In one embodiment, the package has two opening members situated opposite each other and are on opposite sides of the seal line. In the embodiment, the opening members are each situated along the longitudinal axis of the body and are laterally displaced from the longitudinal center of the body.
In yet another embodiment herein, a kit has a hygienic device, having a grasping member, an absorbent member; a package, having a body with walls which surround and contain the device within the body; sealing means for the body, the sealing means being defined by a rupturable seal line running adjacent to a permanent seal along at least one side of the body, and an opening member attached to the sealing means the opening member extending outward from the body of the package; said hygienic device being situated within the body of the package such that the grasping member of the device is first presented to the user when the sealing means is ruptured. The opening member may be a tab, a loop, or the like.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for using the kit by opening the package and retrieving the sanitary device therefrom having the steps of:
a) grasping the package in at least one hand;
b) opening the package by pulling the sealing means to reveal the grasping portion of the sanitary contained therein;
c) gripping the grasping portion of the sanitary device; and
d) removing the sanitary device from the package.
The sanitary device encompasses absorbent structures such as tampons, interlabial devices, bandages, surgical swabs, and the like. In addition, the seal line of the package may be re-sealed once the sanitary device is removed from the package, thereby forming a re-sealable package. Furthermore, the sanitary device can be placed back into the re-sealable package after the tampon applicator or the tampon is used, the re-sealable package is re-sealed with the used tampon applicator or tampon being positioned therein. In addition, the sanitary device can be a tampon in combination with an absorbent member.